Brrrr...I am not too sure what happened to Spring but it surely has disappeared from Wales. It is absolutely freezing and we are even expecting some snow again today. Oh well - nothing I can do about it apart from wrapping up warm when taking Keith the dog out for his walks.
With Mr Happy Larder having been away for a few days, I mainly feasted on leftovers but I also made one of my childhood favourites: pasta bake with tomato sauce. This is a very basic meal but I remember it from when I was a child and still love it. I'm pretty sure we had it because it was not only tasty but also affordable and looking at the nutritional value, I think it is not doing too badly either ;-)
The recipe is so easy, you don't actually need a "proper" recipe for it. For two portions, simply cook enough dried pasta for 2 people according to the packet instructions and once done, place in an ovenproof dish together with a good helping of frozen peas (or other frozen vegetables). In a bowl, mix 2 large eggs with a bit of milk and seasoning; then pour over the pasta. Now top with grated cheese and pop in the oven at 180 - 200c for about 20 - 25 minutes. The egg will cook, the cheese will melt and get crispy and you will have a quick and tasty meal. You can also add ham to the dish - simply chop and stir into the pasta/veg mix before pouring over the eggs.
This is best served with a simple tomato sauce. For mine, I melted a knob of butter in a saucepan and added half a chopped onion. Gently cook until translucent, then add a spoonful of flour. Now add a couple of spoonfuls of tomato puree, some water, salt & pepper and some dried Italian herbs. Job done - easy tomato sauce! Enjoy!
I love eating wraps - add a delicious filling and make a great lunch or turn into a Mexican meal for dinner...simply yummy! I usually buy a packet of wraps from the supermarket - the cheapest ones cost around £1.20 for a packet of 8 wraps. But I wanted to make my own. My River Cottage Bread Handbook has a recipe for tortillas and I thought I'd give it a go. OMG - it is so easy!!!! I actually feel embarrassed to think that I have been buying the packaged stuff for so long when making these little beauties is just so easy. And not only that - making your own is far cheaper, contains no preservatives or additives and is super-tasty as well. And no plastic rubbish either! Just think: a 1kg bag of organic white flour costs roughly £1.30 here and would be enough to make 32 (!!!) tortilla breads. All you need is to add some water and salt. So, for almost the same amount of money you can make four times as many wraps! I was really shocked when I realised this. And it doesn't take long at all either. I'm not saying I'll never buy the supermarket ones again (after all, life sometimes gets in the way & then we need convenience) but I think I will definitely try and make these from scratch as often as I can. I hope you'll give these a go - they are fabulous!
The recipe is so easy, you don't actually need a "proper" recipe for it. For two portions, simply cook enough dried pasta for 2 people according to the packet instructions and once done, place in an ovenproof dish together with a good helping of frozen peas (or other frozen vegetables). In a bowl, mix 2 large eggs with a bit of milk and seasoning; then pour over the pasta. Now top with grated cheese and pop in the oven at 180 - 200c for about 20 - 25 minutes. The egg will cook, the cheese will melt and get crispy and you will have a quick and tasty meal. You can also add ham to the dish - simply chop and stir into the pasta/veg mix before pouring over the eggs.
